The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for dispensing a paper product, more particularly it relates to a method and apparatus for automatically dispensing a predetermined amount of a paper product in response to a food order entered into a cash register or other such business machine.
Many food service establishments such as fast food restaurants offer service at a counter or in a cafeteria setting. These establishments typically furnish paper products such as napkins, paper towels or other absorbent paper products to their customers for wiping their hands, faces, etc. These paper products are either available in dispensers located throughout the restaurant or presented to the customers at the counter when they receive their food order. Regardless of how the paper products are dispensed to the customer, these restaurants experience needless paper product waste that increases their operating costs.
When manual dispensers located throughout the restaurant are used, the management has no control over the number of paper products that each customer takes. As a result, customers can take as many as they wish. Typically, customers take more paper products, for example napkins, than they will use while eating their food order. The customer or the person cleaning the table then discards these extra, unused napkins. Alternatively, the customer may keep the extra napkins and use them elsewhere, such as in their office or automobile. As a result, perfectly clean, unused napkins are wasted or taken for purposes not related to the restaurant that paid for them.
In an attempt to prevent the waste of paper products, many restaurants have stopped using manual, customer accessible dispensers, and instead now rely on their cashiers to dispense the paper products. It was anticipated that a cashier would provide a customer with only the fewest number of napkins or sheets of paper towel necessary. Unfortunately, the cashiers do not accurately control the amount of paper product provided to the customer. Moreover, they typically do not provide a commensurate number of napkins or sheets of paper towel for the ordered food. Instead, they just reach for the stack of napkins or paper towels and provide a random number of them to the customer without considering the type of food ordered or the size of the portion. Consequently, when the cashiers are not paying attention or have poor judgment, they also can cause paper product waste by providing the customer with more than they need. Alternatively, they may upset the customers by not providing them with a sufficient number of napkins or sheets of paper towel. Additionally, by requiring the staff to dispense the paper products, the speed of the service provided to the customer is reduced. This can cause the customers to become upset and impatient while in line. Additionally, it may discourage the customers from staying in line and/or returning to the restaurant.
Powered dispensers for delivering sheets of paper products can be used. However, these dispensers supply individual sheets of rolled paper products to a user with each operation. Also, some dispensers will not deliver a second sheet until the first sheet has been removed. Additionally, they do not limit how many individual sheets a user can obtain. Instead, individual sheets will continue to be dispensed as long as the hands of the user are sensed and/or the previous sheet has been removed.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,289,929 to Hecker et al. discloses a trading or discount stamp dispenser that is controlled by a cash register. The stamp dispenser is operatively connected to the cash register and dispenses stamps that provide customers with discounts for some or all of the merchandise being sold. The face value and total number of dispensed stamps depend on the total cost of the eligible products entered into the cash register. After all of the eligible sales have been entered by the sales person, a control signal is sent from the cash register to the dispenser and stamps having an aggregate face value equal to the value of the total sale are issued to the customer. The signal provided by the cash register is only based on the total amount of the sale. As a result, the number of issued stamps is also based on the total amount of the sale. The number of issued stamps will change with the number of available denominations or the ability of the stamp dispenser to print different denominations on each stamp. For example, many stamps will need to be delivered when the face value of each stamp is low.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,006,538 to Deutsch discloses a stamp dispenser and an associated cash register. The stamp dispenser can be positioned along side or away from the cash register. The stamp dispenser can also be remotely controlled by the cash register. Like Hecker, the stamp dispenser of Deutsch issues denominational stamps equaling the total cost of the eligible goods entered into the cash register. Deutsch also discloses electronic controls that connect the cash register to the remotely positioned stamp dispenser. The cash register sends a signal to the dispenser that is based only on the monetary value of the sale. Neither Deutsch nor Hecker disclose a cash register which sends a signal to the dispenser which is based on the characteristics of the item orderedxe2x80x94the type of product or the size of the item ordered.
An object of the present invention includes overcoming the deficiencies of the prior art and providing a controlled amount of a paper product to a customer for limiting waste.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a paper dispenser control system which causes a paper product dispenser to deliver a precise, predetermined amount of a paper product to a customer. The predetermined amount is based on the size of the item ordered, the type of food ordered and/or the total number of items.
It is another object of the invention to provide an integrated dispenser and business machine system that will control the amount of paper product delivered to the customer without occupying the time and attention of the clerk.
Other objects of this invention will appear in the following specification and claims, reference being made now to the accompanying drawings.
An aspect of the present invention relates to a system for dispensing a predetermined amount of a paper product based on a food order inputted into a business machine at a food service establishment. The system includes a business machine, such as a cash register, linked to a powered paper product dispenser. According to the present invention, each menu item available at the establishment is assigned a number that represents the total number of napkins, sheets of paper towel or amount of other absorbent paper products that a normal customer may need while consuming the ordered item. This assigned number is stored within a memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM) or a random-access memory (RAM). A microprocessor contained within either the powered paper product dispenser or the integrated business machine retrieves a command from the memory when a food item key on the business machine is pressed. The microprocessor then provides a signal to a dispenser motor that in turn rotates a feed roller that delivers the predetermined amount of the paper product to the customer. The system controls the dispensing of the paper product in order to reduce the number of needlessly wasted unused napkins or paper towels.